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The western fence lizard (''Sceloporus occidentalis'') is a common lizard of Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Northern Mexico, and the surrounding area. As the ventral abdomen of an adult is characteristically blue, it is also known as the blue-belly. It is a member of the genus ''Sceloporus'' (the spiny lizards). ==Taxonomy== Taxonomy for the western fence lizard has been under much debate. ''S. occidentalis'' belongs in the order Squamata (snakes and lizards) and the suborder Iguania. The family in which it belongs is still under scrutiny. The family Phrynosomatidae, along with seven other families, used to be included in the single family Iguanidae, until Frost and Etheridge's (1989) analysis of iguanian systematics suggested the family be divided.〔(Family Phrynosomatidae ) from Animal Diversity Web〕 Some literature, however, still places the phrynosomatids in Iguanidae. Six subspecies are recognized, as follows: *Island fence lizard, ''S. o. becki'' *San Joaquin fence lizard, ''S. o. biseriatus'' *Coast Range fence lizard, ''S. o. bocourtii'' *Great Basin fence lizard, ''S. o. longipes'' *Northwestern fence lizard, ''S. o. occidentalis'' *Sierra fence lizard, ''S. o. taylori'' Some authors have raised the island fence lizard to specific rank, ''Sceloporus becki''. However, recent work in molecular systematics has suggested there are four clades and 11 genetically separable populations, and the subspecies will probably have to be redefined.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Western fence lizard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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